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West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
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Sounds like a good plan, Geoff. I lived on the east coast of Florida
(Merritt Island) during the Apollo days. The warm water is wonderful
(except for the rapid barnacle growth). I moved there from Los Angeles, and
I couldn't believe how sweet the air was, blowing in from the Atlantic
(Trade Winds?). The air wasn't so good inland sometimes, as there were
often long-burning fires (peat?) that produced a lot of smoke.
Mosquitos seemed to be a problem only around sunset. Crop dusters,
hedgehopping just above our rooftops, regularly sprayed insecticide, and
there were trucks that came down the street at night spreading an eerie
looking cloud of malathion or whatever, illuminated by the warning lights
on the truck. The no-see-ums and other flying insects were a problem inland
but not on the east coast where I lived; I guess the prevailing winds
carried them inland. There were plentiful roaches, euphemistically called
"Palmetto Bugs," and we had water mocassins in our canal. We found a snake
in our house on one occasion, but it was a nonpoisonous type.
There was always a great blue heron fishing in the canal, and my
daggerboard occasionally bumped into a manatee grazing in Sykes Creek.
There were a lot of turtles too, and menhaden that jumped out of the water.
At first there were some blue crabs on our seawall, but they disappeared as
development dredging apparently ruined their environment. We were many
miles from an ocean inlet, so the water level remained constant,
essentially unaffected by tides.
When a hurricane passed nearby, the horizontal rain penetrated the concrete
block walls of our house. Hurricanes always seemed to miss the Cape
Canaveral area. The one I remember was one that circled around into the
gulf then crossed the middle of the peninsula and headed back into the
Atlantic.
In the summer, thunderstorms marched through every afternoon.
My boat then was a 10 ft wooden pram, lateen rigged (what else?). I lived
on a canal, so after work I would just toss the boat into the canal and
sail around in Sykes Creek, part of the Indian River/Banana
River/Intracoastal waterway complex. I was usually accompanied by Lady, a
little red dog, the most enthusiastic sailing crew I've ever had.. When she
saw me change into my sailing shoes, she would run out and jump into the
boat..
I never did any cruising but did fly to the Bahamas in a Piper Cherokee.
The water around the islands was incredibly clear. As viewed from the
plane, anchored boats appeared suspended in air, their shadow clearly
visible on the bottom.
You may miss the mountains though. I did. Florida is FLAT; the highest
elevation is around 400 ft.
That was Florida in the late 60s. I hope it hasn't changed too much. When
the Apollo program was winding down, I tried to find another tech writing
job there, but that was futile, so I let North American Rockwell move me
back to California.
Regards,
Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA
>In a message dated 2/26/00 6:08:39 PM Pacific Standard Time, hapilife@efn.org
>writes:
>
><< Yeh Geoff...why move to florida? >>
>
>OK, you guys. One too many people have asked me the same question, so I am
>going to copy the letter I sent to the first to ask:
>
>
>
>In a message dated 2/26/00 5:06:29 AM Pacific Standard Time, HandyM2@aol.com
>writes:
>
><< Geoff, WHY do you feel limited to sailing only 12 weeks a year? >>
>
>As I look out the window right now it's about 25 degrees and snowing.
>There's about four feet of snow here at my home and 12 feet or more just a
>little higher on the mountain. It snows from about September to April. I
>have been sailing in a snowstorm, but it doesn't rank high on my
>"things-to-do" list. Even the months of May, June, July and August can bring
>snowstorms, although those don't usually last long. That's normally when we
>have lightning and rain squalls. I am expecting one to two feet of new snow
>by morning. There are no boats out on the lake today.
>
>Warm, comfortable weather usually lasts only a few short weeks during the
>summer. That's when most tourist's come up, so they think it's always
>beautiful. Usually my last sail of the year is our Tahoe get together in late
>August. The days get short, the lake gets rough and the air very chilly
>after that.
>
>Florida is the stepping off point to the Bahamas and Caribbean. I have a lot
>to learn about sailing. I will be taking navigation classes and offshore
>sailing lessons in Florida. I kind of suspect that handling a 40 foot
>catamaran has a few differences from Lollipop. For one, I'll be able to cook
>dinner without balancing a campstove on my knees in the cockpit. I will also
>be able to sit on the throne and sit up straight. That will be a novelty.
>
>I enjoy diving and love the different cultures you find in the Caribbean,
>from the Rasta culture and reggae of Jamaica to the formal British atmosphere
>in the Bahamas. I've live in the mountains, Colorado, Utah and Lake Tahoe
>for over 30 years. I grew up on the ocean. I'm ready for a change and new
>adventure. That's why I'm starting my liveaboard life in Florida.
>
>P-15 Lollipop
>Sail (hull?) number: 1961
>N. Lake Tahoe, NV and
>Monterey, CA
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